Kabushiki Gaisha ABS
Kabushiki Gaisha ABS is a Japanese international media conglomerate. Their headquarters are located in the Shinjuku Ward of Tokyo, within the ABS Broadcasting Center, that houses the operations of JOBX-DTV - ABS' flagship television station serving the Kanto region of Japan. Company overview The company was founded in June 1999 by Kenji Yukimura to take control of the Aso Broadcasting System, an English-language television station formed in 1987 by Rokurou Inoue as part of a deal between Nippon TV and TV Asahi. Kenji stated that his goal was to "expand the previously-independent Aso Broadcasting System's outreach" and to "operate a nationwide network of English-language television stations all over Japan". Prior to the company's establishment, ABS' stations were "loosely" connected in a non-centralised manner. Kabushiki Gaisha ABS has since introduced Japanese television viewers to many Korean and western programmes and (as of recently) creating its own exclusive series, whilst keeping ABS Television's original focus of making popular Japanese programming more accessible to foreigners residing in Japan and those interested in Japanese culture. 2016 saw a massive expansion outside of the television field, taking up business in family entertainment, retail and snack foods. Name The company's name roughly translates to "ABS Corporation" or "ABS Co, Ltd.", however the company always refers to itself, in both English and Japanese, as "Kabushiki Gaisha ABS". Operations Television Kabushiki Gaisha ABS operates a number of television stations, under the ABS Television Network banner. It started as a banded union of 8 stations. As of April 2016, a massive increase in the number of ABS affiliates was seen, with new stations reaching out into smaller, prefecture-level areas. The number of terrestrial ABS Television stations serving Japan turned from as little as 10 at the start of the month, to 23 as of the 27th April, 2016. Some of these newer networks have however fallen to low viewership figures, leading to the closure of three prefectural stations on May 25th, 2017. 20 domestic affiliates remain operational. ABS also operates a number of satellite, cable and terrestrial networks targeted towards international viewers. On-demand Kabushiki Gaisha ABS is the founder and operator of the ABS Anywhere on-demand television service. Web portals The ABS Television Network has its own website, abs.jp, along with many TV-show-specific microsites. Its other brands have their own websites. Social media Kabushiki Gaisha ABS runs a number of Twitter accounts: * @abs_terebi: ABS Television (main account) * @abs_live: Updates from live events covered on ABS Television * @tvasahi_intl: Asahi Kokusai * @abs_news: ABS N24 * @abs_kenji: Kenji Yukimura * @abs_rokurou: Rokurou Inoue Character accounts Kabushiki Gaisha ABS also has multiple "character" Twitter accounts, run in a way that makes it seem that the account is run by an actual ABS Television character him/herself, and with posts reflecting their in-universe day-to-day happenings. The main characters of the Doraemon anime series were first to receive character accounts. The following ABS characters and mascots currently have character accounts as of the 1st of January, 2017: * @abs_doraemon: Doraemon * @abs_noby: Nobita Nobi * @abs_sue: Shizuka Minamoto * @abs_sneech: Suneo Honekawa * @abs_big_g: Takeshi "Gian" Gouda Merchandising Kabushiki Gaisha ABS is responsible for the international distribution and marketing of merchandise associated with its series (particularly anime series), as well as many original items of their own, and popular toys and items from other countries that are not officially distributed by any company in Japan. DVDs are also released by Kabushiki Gaisha ABS, the first titles having been released under the "ABS Home Entertainment" banner in 2005.Category:Aso Broadcasting System Category:Fictional companies